Her hand fell away, her laughter fading as her own heart took off into what felt like a full, forever gallop.

“I thought you were yelling at me, at first—I thought you’d seen me. But really you were yelling at those squirrels, and I”—he took a few steps forward, away from the tree—“I was thinking of something to say, anything, really. I was all locked up with nerves.”

Anything, she thought. You could have said anything, and I would have loved it. I would have listened and listened.

“I was almost ready, but then you started tossing tomatoes off your balcony. The first one hit me here.” He reached up, touched his hand to the front of his thick, wavy mass of hair. “You can throw some of those ones back down, if you want to get me again.”

She shook her head, unable to speak, caught between more laughter and tears, locked up with nerves now like he’d been all those years ago.

He nodded, shifting the hand he’d put in his hair to shield his eyes for a few seconds, and even from here she could see: whatever story he was telling, it was about to change. He looked at her like he was gathering his own courage for it, and she set both her hands over her heart because that was the place she was listening from; that was the place where all her locked-up words lived for now.

She thought he might have taken a breath, a big one, and then he said, “I picked them up, all the ones you’d thrown.” He brought his half-full container in front of him, held it cupped in his hands.

“Like this,” he said, and then he crossed the yard, moved to stand right by Donny’s—his—balcony.

Nora moved, too, peeking over from a different spot.

“I stood right here, so I’d be closer, so I could try to see you better. I was going to say, Hey, did you drop something?”

Below, she heard the distinct sound of a door sliding open, and then an unfamiliar voice said, “Listen, could you keep it down?”

Will’s head turned to his own balcony and he said, “In a minute,” with a flat, inarguable seriousness that was nearly as heart-thumping as this entire scene.

“I sleep during the day, so . . .”

“I’m your landlord,” said Will, and Nora thought she might’ve heard Benny’s laugh from somewhere beneath her.

Will looked back at Nora. “Funny he should interrupt,” he called up, the smile on his lips carrying a hint of sadness, and she knew it wasn’t going to be funny at all.

“So I was going to say, Hey, did you drop something? And I know I didn’t tell you this part before, Nora, but I think I ought to tell you now.”